Have you ever wondered whether God hears your prayers or why you don’t see His will come to pass? Prayer should be one of the most rewarding parts of a believer’s life, but for many people it is frustrating and ineffective. There was a time when Andrew had many of the same questions you do, but over the years, he found a better way to pray.

welcome to gospel truth with Andrew

Wommack a teaching ministry that focuses

on God’s unconditional love and grace we

have a better covenant upon better

promises and we have a better

relationship with God we were at such a

desperate place that Andrew who was like

a life it was just life that was coming

from the television and every area in

our life has been turned right-side up

and now here’s the in drew welcome to

our Tuesday’s broadcast of the gospel

truth today I’m continuing to teach

about a better way to pray I just

started this series yesterday this is

going to be a multiple week series I’ve

got a book on this entitled a better way

to pray and I’ve also got it in Spanish

and then I have CDs and DVDs and as I

said yesterday Jesus when he started

teaching on prayer in Matthew chapter 6

the very first thing he did was say

don’t be like the hypocrites because

they love to pray and he began to start

just coming against the religious system

of his day that really emphasizes prayer

but it wasn’t true communion with God

you know if you are having a

conversation and nobody else is

listening well then it’s not really a

conversation it’s just a monologue and

sad to say this is what a lot of people

are doing in prayer they’re saying that

they’re praying but prayer is communion

with God it’s a relationship with God

and yet it has degenerated down to where

with many people it’s just a religious

exercise and it soothes their conscience

but it is not truly connecting with the

Lord and so Jesus and when he started

teaching on prayer

the very first thing he said in Matthew

chapter 6 and verse 5 it says and when

thou prayest thou shalt not be as the

hypocrites are for they love to pray

standing in the synagogues and in the

corners of the streets that they may be

seen of men verily I say unto you they

have their reward and I think that a

large large portion of prayer is so that

people can get acclaim from other people

you know when I go into churches and I

remember the church that I was raised in

you would take these people and they

would ask them to stand up and pray and

typically they would just be normal

people that just talked you know like

anybody else but when it came time to

pray in church it would be like our God

gaawd God and then they would pray in

this Elizabeth Ian’s voice and they

would pray in a booming voice and they

would we beseech you so humbly today and

all of this stuff and it was just a

religious form and I tell you I hate

that stuff I think God hates it I really

do and I play this same thing to

preachers you know I have people all the

time that confessed to me that they saw

my programs for years and just flipped

right on by and the channels and didn’t

watch it because I wasn’t you know

standing and running and jumping and

shouting and screaming and I wasn’t

excited I was just talking in a normal

voice and they thought well you can’t be

anointed because they had this concept

of a certain style that you had to be to

be an effective minister but I am just

the opposite if a person

all of a sudden changes when they get

behind the pulpit or when they open up

the Bible and start sharing the word in

their whole voice changes and they start

using Elizabeth II and English whether

it’s in prayer or ministry or whatever

then I just look at it and say that

you’re religious and I know that there’s

some people to get upset alright but I

tell you you shouldn’t be any different

you could talk to me in a grocery store

you could talk to me pumping gas you can

do anything and I’ll still talk in this

same voice this is me this is who I am

I’m not a different person when I’m on

television or something I believe that

all a minister is you’re just talking to

people one on one and when you have to

change your old personality and become a

different person then you’re just a

hypocrite and this is what Jesus is

talking about right here don’t be like

the hypocrites

they love to pray they do it so that

they can be seen of men you know I held

a meeting one time with RW schambach in

Palm Springs California and some of you

know who RW schambach is and he’s real

demonstrative and he talks you know in a

real dramatic voice and everything but I

went out to eat with him my mother and

my wife and I we all got in his little

convertible and we went out and got some

ice cream and did you know that RW

schambach was exactly the same in the

restaurant exactly the same driving down

the road he witnessed he talked to

people and he was real traumatic but

that was just him he didn’t change to

become that way that was who he was when

a person is usually meek and mild

mannered and yet they be goodbye in the

pulpit and they have to change their old

personality or if a person is just an

everyday you know Joe and then they get

up and they want to pray in front of

people that may all of a sudden start

speaking in Elizabeth II and English and

stuff it’s just hypocritical its

religious at best and it is total

Apocrypha at worse I know some people

don’t like that but this I’m following

the leadership of Jesus before he taught

what prayer was he taught what prayer

wasn’t he came against the religious

traditions of his day and he mentioned

here in this fifth verse people love to

pray standing in the synagogues and in

the corner of the streets there’s other

examples where Jesus talked about the

scribes and the Pharisees and how they

would literally blow trumpets before

them and then they would stand and pray

at the top of their lungs and they would

actually they would pay that person to

go around and blow a trumpet to detract

everybody’s attention and then he would

stand up and go to prayer now that is

not communing with God that is not true

worship of God that is just religious

and there are people that watch this

program that I guarantee you you are

religious in the way you pray and I know

that some people don’t like this we like

to say well I’m afraid it doesn’t matter

how I do it no it does matter how you do

jesus is right here saying that there is

right and wrong ways to pray do not pray

so that you can just be recognized

by people don’t pray in a Elizabethan

tone of voice so that you’re like the

King James Bible and think that somehow

and other your holier when you do that

you just need to be real you need to

talk to God like he’s a real person you

need to talk to him the way that you’d

talked to me maybe with more respect and

honor but you don’t need to change your

whole personality and go to being

something that you aren’t you know the

word hypocrite comes from a Greek word

and it was literally it meant behind the

mask and it went back to the Greek

theater how that they would come out on

stage and they would hold up a mask in

front of them and pretend to be a

different person and so you were an

actor

you weren’t really yourself you were

projecting something you were being

somebody that you weren’t and that’s

what the word hypocrite is describing

and when a person all of a sudden just

starts you know acting totally different

and you’re talking to God in words that

you never use unless you’re praying and

stuff you’re just a hypocrite I’m not

saying that out of bitterness or anger

I’m just trying to say that until we get

rid of the religious junk that has been

taught us about prayer and we get real

with God you aren’t really communicating

with God you know I have people that

come and they meet me and for whatever

reason they want to impress me and so

they just start talking about all of

this stuff and promoting themselves and

they’re doing it so that I can be

impressed with who they are and you know

what that does it makes a negative

impression on me I know that this person

is putting on you know a show for me and

it doesn’t bless me the type of people

that I really like are the people that

are just themselves there are some

people I know that you know what they

aren’t necessarily the most diplomatic

they just say what they think and that

turns a lot of people off but I like it

because I can I can know where I stand

with this person if they don’t like

something they’ll tell me and I can

handle that it’s not a problem with me I

just like people being genuine you know

when I get introduced the number one

thing that

people say about me when they introduce

me is they say he’s the same whether

he’s on television or eat someplace else

and I think to myself what kind of

introduction is that what does that mean

does that mean that other people aren’t

the same does that mean that other

ministers act one way in the pulpit and

they talked one way but then when you

get them by their self they’re different

and I’ve asked that question to people

and they say yes that’s what a lot of

people are there’s a lot of people that

is just a show and this is this is the

very first thing that Jesus said don’t

be like the hypocrites don’t be

hypocritical in your prayer be genuine

be honest talk to the Lord don’t do it

for the praise of men if you do it says

they have their reward that little pat

on the back that they give you and say

oh you’re so awesome that’s your reward

you aren’t gonna get a reward from God

you’ve got with your reward it’s just

that a little bit of recognition that

you get in verse 6 this is Matthew

chapter 6 verse 6 it says but thou when

thou prayest enter into thy closet and

when thou is shut that door pray to thy

father which is in secret and their

father which seeth in secret shall

reward thee openly

now I’ve had this verse misused on me

you know when I was in the Baptist

Church and I got really turned on men a

lot of the young people in that church

got excited at the same time and we used

to have morning prayer before we would

go to school and we would get together

and pray as a group in the youth

director of this Baptist Church saw us

as a threat to him because he was not

spiritual at all and he was intimidated

by us and so he came out against us and

told us that we should quit praying and

I said how in the world can you say that

what right do you have to tell us not to

pray and he came up with this verse and

he says you’re supposed to go in your

prayer closet you should not ever pray

in front of another person that’s not

what this is saying because Jesus

himself who said this prayed openly and

then 12th chapter of the book of John he

just out loud said father glorify your

name and there came a voice from heaven

said I have glorified it and will

glorify it again Jesus prayed when he

was on the cross and said father lay not

this sin to there

charge forgive them for they know not

what they do and there’s multiple

instances where jesus prayed publicly in

front of people so this is not saying

that you can’t do it but the emphasis is

that you should not be praying to get

recognition from people you shouldn’t be

praying to have bragging rights and I

tell you there’s a lot of this I don’t

know how many of you remember when the

could you not tarry one our teaching

came out that’s been I forget now but

twenty or thirty years ago in the body

of Christ

and anyway became very popular and they

took the Lord’s Prayer listed right here

in Matthew chapter six and they said it

was like a runner on a track that there

was signpost and that when it says our

Father which art in heaven Hallowed be

that name that means that you enter his

gates with thanksgiving in his courts

with praise and so you spend twenty

minutes

you know just worshiping the Lord and

then you go in to give us this day our

daily bread that’s where you and they

had a an hour’s worth of Prayer broken

down into you spend so much time

praising the Lord so much time asking

for your needs to be meant so much time

confessing your sin and then you end it

and they had this little tract and

people started doing this and pray in an

hour a day and Larry Lee was the guy

that came up with this but it wasn’t him

it was one of his associates there was a

guy who was out traveling and teaching

this series on could you not tarry one

hour and he came and ministered here in

the Colorado Springs area and he came to

my office and I mean after you know

introducing himself and telling me who

he was he said so how much time do you

spend every day praying and it just kind

of took me back when he asked me that

question and immediately I thought so

why do you want to know and the only

reasons that I could think of was either

he wanted to know so that he was gonna

criticize me and say you aren’t doing

enough and try and get me to spend more

time praying or he wanted to compare

himself with me and see if he was holier

than I was because he spent more time

Brayan every day than I did I couldn’t

think of any good reason for a person

asking how much time you spent in prayer

and so I was kind of just thinking about

this and the Lord spoke to me and he

said how much time did you spend with

Jamie yesterday and it’s just so

happened that I had been home that day I

stayed at home and I spent all day with

Jamie and he says so how much time did

you spend I said well all day he says

could you say that you talked to her for

five minutes 10 minutes 20 minutes 30

minutes now I said no I talked to her

all day long we weren’t talking the

whole time but we were there together

and we were visiting and and basically

the Lord just spoke to me if a person

can reduce their prayer time to an hour

a day or 30 minutes or whatever it is

then you have a pretty sorry

relationship with God because he’s with

you 24/7 he’ll never leave you nor

forsake you he’s always there and if God

is always there how could you just spend

you know a few moments talking to them

and then ignoring the rest of the day

that would be like me being with Jamie

all day we may not have talked the whole

time but we were there I was aware of

what she was doing she was aware of what

I was doing we did talk a lot we

communed everything that happened to me

it happened to her and vice versa and

you know this is a way that I’ve come to

pray I just pray and talk to the Lord

constantly when I’m asleep I dream about

the Lord I’m praying I wake up in the

middle of the night and when I roll over

I’m talking to the Lord and I’m praying

when I get up I’m praying when I go to

bed I’m praying I’m talking to the Lord

all of the time you know over in 1st

Thessalonians chapter 5 it says pray

without ceasing and I think that there’s

multiple ways that you can apply that

but one of the ways to apply that is

that you ought to be in communion with

the Lord at all times I think it’s

dangerous when a person can just say I

pray an hour every day well man you

should be in communion with God all the

time the sad fact is some people devote

one hour and they’re focused on the Lord

and they’re talking about the Lord and

talking to the Lord but then the rest of

the day they’ll sit there and watch

things on television that I guarantee it

grieves the Lord it’s not good for you

if you were in communion and praying

with the Lord right then you would not

be watching those things you wouldn’t be

saying some of the things that you say

you wouldn’t be going some of the places

that you go you wouldn’t talk about

people the way that you talk but some

people they just spend a certain segment

of their day with God in the rest of the

day they’re on their own but because

they spend an hour or something with the

Lord well then they think that somehow

or another there’s relationship with God

is superior that’s this is preaching

against that your prayer should not be

so that you could go ask somebody how

much time do you spend in prayer every

day I spend more time than you do I’m

better than you are if you’ve got that

kind of an attitude your prayer stinks

it is not ministering to God it’s not

truly touching God it’s not communing

with God there’s a lot of religious junk

going on with prayer in verse 7 this is

Matthew chapter 6 verse 7 but when you

pray use not vain repetitions as the

heathen do for they think that they

shall be heard for their much speaking

so this is really clear when you pray

don’t use vain repetition don’t just say

the same thing over and over this would

be comparable to people pray in the

Rosary our Father

Hail Mary all of these kind of things

people reciting the Lord’s Prayer which

the Lord’s Prayer is given in just the

next few verses right here but there are

people that you know they just recite

this as a mantra and think that somehow

or another this is connecting with the

Lord it’s not you know I’ve been in

services before where demons manifest

themselves and I’m casting demons out of

people and I mean there’s some strange

things happening and it causes fear in

some of the people that are around and I

remember an instance where a woman

standing next to me when this demon

manifested she got fearful and she

started saying I Father which art in

heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom

come thy way and she was just spitting

out the horns prayer like a machine gun

and she was just repeating his thing as

fast as she could and I actually turned

over and

said stop it and she thought wrong I’m

repeating scripture I’m repeating the

Lord’s Prayer she was doing it in fear

it wasn’t from her heart it’s you know

it says over in 1st Corinthians chapter

13 if you give all of your goods to feed

the poor and if you even make the

ultimate sacrifice and give your body to

be burned and don’t do it motivated by

love it profits you nothing the motive

behind your action is more important

than your action right there in first

Corinthians 13 verse 1 and says if I

speak with the tongues of men and of

angels and have not charity I’m a

sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal if

I can prophesy if I have faith if I can

do all of these things and don’t do it

motivated by love it profits me nothing

if you are reciting the Lord’s Prayer

and you’re just spitting it out but your

heart is full of fear well then the

motive behind your words are more

important in your words and there are

some people that just recite these

prayers they have these mantras they go

through a rosary they go through their

rituals on Sunday and they recite these

written prayers and this is exactly what

Jesus is teaching against he says do not

use vain repetitions as the heathen do

they he there and have these mantras

that they go through they just say the

same things over and over and over and

somehow or another think that that makes

them holy it just makes them carnal it

makes them hypocrites you know I know

that there’s a lot of people not being

blessed by what I’m saying but before we

can actually lay a good foundation we

got a jackhammer and get rid of all of

this old stuff and I am reading to you

scriptures that Jesus said Jesus was in

a religious culture when he was here on

this earth and the religious Jews were

hypocrites to the max they would blow

trumpets pray on street corners they

would do all of these things they had

these phylacteries that they little

strips of leather that they put around

their forehead and it had a pouch right

here and they kept scripture in there so

that this scripture would be constantly

in front of their eyes

and it’s went back to Deuteronomy

chapter 6 where it says that you shall

meditate in these things and you keep

this scripture in front of you day and

night never let it depart from your eyes

so they would put these little

phylacteries there and they would do all

this stuff they had all of the motions

down pat but it was just religious

exercise it was not genuine and God

hated that stuff and he still hates it

today there’s a lot of people that your

prayer is nothing but just religious

stuff you aren’t talking to God from

your heart this is they think that they

shall be heard for their much speaking

the length of your prayer isn’t what’s

important it’s not if you pray an hour

that you’re somehow or another better

than a person that prays for a minute

did you know that some of the very best

prayers that you could possibly pray are

help and that’s a great prayer oh god

help mat you know that’s a great prayer

you look at Jesus and his prayers were

real short like be healed he would speak

to the seed be still I mean he’s just

one or two words he didn’t pray long

long long prayers now there are some

times there’s twice two separate

instances it’s recorded more than once

because of the four Gospels but there’s

two separate instances where Jesus spent

all night in prayer one of them was

before he chose his 12 disciples and I

believe he was specifically asking for

wisdom and direction so that he would

make the right choices and so there’s

twice that he prayed all night and of

course there’s other times that he would

go up into a mountain to pray in Jesus

prayed but most of his prayers were very

short prayers he said specifically that

the hypocrites think that they will be

heard for their much speaking that is

just absolutely wrong and we have that

same pharisaical attitude in the body of

Christ today that it’s all about how

long you pray and whether or not you use

the Elizabethan English and whether or

not you say God gaawd instead of God and

it’s all of this junk that doesn’t mean

a thing to God and that

pat on the back that little you know

smile that people give and they nod your

head when you walk by because you’re so

holy that’s your reward that’s all

you’re gonna get that doesn’t connect

with God I’m telling you God would

rather you be real with him you know

when I first got started in ministry I

was in Pritchett Colorado and I

ministered to a lot of farmers and

ranchers and most of them never went to

church and one of the reasons cuz they

didn’t want to be with the hypocrites

they were in church but they were good

people and many of them were born-again

and if they weren’t born again I got him

born-again but I love these people

because they were just totally

non-pretentious it was just all genuine

and man I loved it I fit right in with

them and I think that God many times is

more pleased with that than the people

who put on all of their fancy guard go

to church and they can say all the right

things and do all of this but their

heart is far from God it’s all about

your heart God looks on the heart first

Samuel 16:7

and God is looking at your heart and God

knows whether you’re putting on a show

or not I’m telling you these scriptures

to me just say don’t be hypocritical be

real with God you’re gonna hear things

you’re gonna start understanding things

seeing things from a different way it’s

called the summer family Bible

conference guess what that’s not just

because you brought your kids it’s

because in this room we’re family

there’s nobody in here that God doesn’t

want to prosper he sees a purpose in you

that he wants to set free listen you’ve

been sowing sowing sowing it’s time for

us to reap our harvest it’s going to

completely change the way that you live

your life

[Music]

Andrews complete teaching titled a

better way to pray is available as a

book in either English or Spanish today

Andrew would like to offer this book as

his free gift to you go to a WMI dotnet

to get your copy today I’d like to

encourage you to get this free book that

we’re offering on prayer I’ve got other

product here study guide DVD CDs but

we’re offering this book to you as our

gift and I tell you this is a powerful

teaching especially during this time you

know we’re just going through this virus

that hit the world actually a pandemic

and man people are praying but many

times are praying wrong out of

desperation begging God they don’t know

the rights and privileges that God has

given us and I promise you this would

transform your prayer life we are

offering this as a free gift to you so

listen to our announcer as he gives you

the details and please call or write

today to receive our free book on a

better way to pray get Andrews a better

way to pray book absolutely free by

going to a WMI dotnet today this offer

is limited to one free book per

household and is only available in the

US UK Canada and Australia a better way

to pray is also available as a CD or DVD

album made from our daily television

broadcast and as a companion study guide

each of these valuable resources is

available for a gift of any amount when

you contact us this entire series is

also available for audio download

absolutely free from our website go to a

WMI dotnet to see all the ways you can

get this teaching we want to say a

special thank you to the grace partners

of Andrew Wommack ministries your gifts

make it possible to put free ministry

materials into the hands of many people

in need if you’re not already a grace

partner we ask you to pray about

becoming one today

you can become a grace partner or order

resources through our website and a WMI

net while there you can discover more

product details and download additional

free resources or call our helpline

monday through friday from 4:30 a.m. to

9:30 p.m. mountain time at seven one

nine six three five eleven eleven to

write us use the address on your screen

we appreciate your generosity and hope

to hear from you today Harris an

accredited Bible College in the

beautiful town of Woodland Park has been

changing people’s lives for over 25

years the people here are so like-minded

they want to help you grow these are

people who genuinely care about you they

want the best for you be prepared to be

blown away with the teachings it’s not

just a season in your life there’s no

way you can’t change you can’t really go

wrong going to a place that you get to

sit and listen to the word for four

hours a day being on the word that much

just a lot got divorced so much into me

if you feel supernatural peace if I

coming to Kharis that’s God I know

you’re like how when where all these

questions just do it the Lord will

provide I was doubting and

second-guessing it but when I took that

step of faith immediately like things

are provided just being around

like-minded believers teachers who are

there for you and ready to talk to you

at any moment and answer your questions

there’s just nothing like it

just follow the leading of the one that

you serve and that’s always going to be

the right direction to go

go to Karis Bible College org to

register today I want to let you know

that we are doing what we call a live

Bible study every Tuesday night at six

o’clock Mountain Standard Time we are

broadcasting from my facilities here in

Woodland Park and we are just sharing

the word and it’s actually live you can

text in your question you can call and

ask for prayer but we will answer as

many of your questions as we can about

25 30 minutes worth of teaching and

maybe 25 minutes worth of answering

questions it’s just a great interactive

thing every Tuesday night 6 o’clock p.m.

Mountain Standard Time

[Music]